Optimist Club

MARCH IS the month that Optimist Clubs across the nation stage their oratorical contests, and the Optimist Club of Westminster was no exception, holding its annual dinner and contest March 19 at American Legion Post 31 in Westminster.Male and female contestants competed in separate contests. This year the topic was "Now is the Time." The winning speakers are Maura Smyth, 14, and Justin Bell, 12.Six girls and five boys took part in the competition, each giving a four-to five-minute talk on the assigned topic.

Schools to offer alternative diploma Carroll County Public Schools offer the External Diploma Program, a self-paced alternative to the GED test. Information sessions on the program will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Jan. 24 at Student Support Services/Carroll Adult Learning Connection, 55 N. Court St., Suite G27, Westminster. Registration is requested at 410-751-3680. Optimist Club holds essay contest The Optimist Club of Westminster is holding its annual essay contest for students younger than age 19 as of Dec. 31, 2006.

The days of wandering for one small Jewish congregation in Carroll County are at an end. B'nai Israel plans to settle on property in Eldersburg by the first of the year.The congregation, chartered nearly 20 years ago, cleared the last hurdle yesterday with the Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals and will probably hold its first service in the Freedom Optimist Club building on Arthur Avenue this week."We want to have our own home," said Barry Heiserman, president of the congregation of 31 families.

The riders take their spots at the starting line and wait for the light to turn green. When it does, they roar off on the first of eight laps. They're racing around an oval on what is, most of the time, a corral for horses. But on some summer evenings at the state fairgrounds in Timonium, the sand in the animal pen is pushed to the center to make way for the loud fun of motorcycle racing. For three decades, the Cockeysville Optimist Club and the Baltimore County Trail Riders Association have raised money by staging races at the fairgrounds.

MAURY PRIMROSE, a Severn School senior, won this year's Severna Park Optimist Club essay contest.Maury, son of Niles and Jane Primrose of Gibson Island, was among 34 students in 10th through 12th grades who wrote on the theme, "Following a Dream Toward Freedom." They were honored at a dinner meeting last month.The three top finishers are seniors at Severn School.John Neely, son of John and Susan Neely of Annapolis, finished second, and Timur Chirikov, son of Vladimir and Saida Chirikov of Silver Spring, finished third.

AT THE Westminster Optimist Club's annual installation night held Sept. 30, the agenda included more than just the swearing-in of new officers. At the meeting, a number of members were presented with service awards for their outstanding efforts and dedication to the club and the community.The Optimist of the Year award went to Al Liebno, editor of the club's monthly newsletter. Mr. Liebno said he believes in the philosophy of Optimist International and the Westminster Optimist Club and he was honored to receive the award.

A hats off to Delores Impallaria, a resident of the Belle Grove community, who was recently honored by the Optimist Club of Anne Arundel County.She received the "Respect for the Law" plaque and certificate at a banquet at Ramono's on May 17.Impallaria is a community activist who is the president of the Northern District Police Community Relations Council and has been the president of the Belle Grove Improvement Association for the past three years.She...

The prognosis for an ailing, 40-year-old service club in Brooklyn Park is grim. Without new blood, the Optimist Club of Brooklyn has only a few weeks to live."

NOW OR NEVER It's almost August -- time to satisfy your inner child (or your children) with a carnival. Not the wild and crazy Six Flags type of carnival -- the rustic, classy carnival plopped onto a field in a small town for a week. The Mount Airy Fireman's Carnival is one of these: An old-fashioned event with rides, games and food. The carnival is also an annual fundraiser for the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company. The Mount Airy Fireman's Carnival runs through Saturday at Route 27 and Twin Arch Road.

John H. Shellenberger, a former pharmacist who owned a popular Hamilton drugstore, died Thursday of heart failure at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. He was 69 and lived in Parkville.Mr. Shellenberger, who retired because of illness in August, had been a part-time pharmacist at Kmart.The Hamilton native was a 1948 graduate of City College and earned his bachelor's degree in 1953 from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. He began working that year at Walther Pharmacy at Hamilton and Frankford avenues.

NOW OR NEVER It's almost August -- time to satisfy your inner child (or your children) with a carnival. Not the wild and crazy Six Flags type of carnival -- the rustic, classy carnival plopped onto a field in a small town for a week. The Mount Airy Fireman's Carnival is one of these: An old-fashioned event with rides, games and food. The carnival is also an annual fundraiser for the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company. The Mount Airy Fireman's Carnival runs through Saturday at Route 27 and Twin Arch Road.

DICTIONARIES define an optimist as somebody who feels hopeful about the future, the man or woman who looks at a glass and declares it not half empty, but half full. But to John Mansfield of Ellicott City, optimists are something else, too. They are members of Optimist International - the Optimist Club parent organization. Mansfield, 51, is governor of the Maryland and South Delaware District, which has about 1,900 Optimist Club members. One might imagine the clubs as groups of people getting together to make rosy predictions about the future.

William J. Spano, a retired analyst with the National Security Agency who worked tirelessly to benefit Howard County youth, died Wednesday of liver cancer at his home in Laurel. He was 64. A longtime member of the Optimist Club of Columbia, Mr. Spano coached the club's youth football team for many years. He also organized its lacrosse and wrestling programs, continuing his involvement after they were turned over to the Howard County recreation department. He also taught public speaking through the Optimist Club.

THE SEVERNA PARK Optimist Club Foundation has awarded its second annual Ken Allor Volunteerism Scholarship to 2002 Severn School graduate Clayton S. McCarl III. A National Merit finalist and Maryland Distinguished Scholar finalist in academics and the arts, the 18-year-old son of Clayton and Lisa McCarl of Millersville graduated last month with top departmental honors in science, math, technology and music. Clayton's awards include being named a Capital-Gazette Academic All-Star, receiving a computer science award from the county Board of Education and winning a Maryland Merit Scholastic Award for being in the top 5 percent of his graduating class.

SHE'S STARRED IN the classroom and on the stage, and she's been a student leader and a Bible school teacher. Now, Heather Dechene is the first winner of the Severna Park Optimist Club's Ken Allor College Scholarship. Heather, 17, of Millersville, a June graduate of Old Mill High School, had a resume worthy of the $1,000 award, said Jim Hubbard, secretary-treasurer of the Optimists' 5-year-old foundation. "The scholarship is based on academics, leadership and citizenship," he said. "Like the club, the award is heavily weighted toward volunteerism."

MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Optimist Club of Severna Park and its civic contributions Friday night with a party at Club Meade. "I joined Optimists for purely selfish reasons," said Brad Everest of San Antonio, a charter member who traveled from his home in Texas to attend the affair. It was item No. 7 of the 10-part Optimist Creed that persuaded Everest to join an organization that, along with many worthwhile goals, encourages members "to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future."

Big nautical dreams and small landlubbers' hopes alike are riding on the sale of boats and gear at the 11th annual Ocean City Seaside Boat Show, which takes place Feb. 12-14 at the Ocean City Convention Center.The sponsoring Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club hopes that many of this year's visitors fulfill fantasies by purchasing boats. And dealers, for their part, are anticipating a surge in boat sales that will end a four-year drought."A lot of the newer small boats are much more affordable," says David Pilvelait, spokesman for Boat U.S., a national boat owners association.

William J. Spano, a retired analyst with the National Security Agency who worked tirelessly to benefit Howard County youth, died Wednesday of liver cancer at his home in Laurel. He was 64. A longtime member of the Optimist Club of Columbia, Mr. Spano coached the club's youth football team for many years. He also organized its lacrosse and wrestling programs, continuing his involvement after they were turned over to the Howard County recreation department. He also taught public speaking through the Optimist Club.

SCHOOL SECURITY is a topic of importance not just to students and parents, but to the community in general. Larry Faries, head of security for Carroll County public schools, will be the speaker at Freedom Optimist's "Respect for Law" program at 7: 30 p.m. today. The event will be held at the Community Center on Route 32 south of Liberty Road in Eldersburg. "It's important for parents with children in the school system to come and hear about this," said Dave Kelbaugh, a member of Freedom Optimist Club and organizer of the event.

LITTLE MORE THAN a month after honoring area students for leadership, academic accomplishments and community service, the Severna Park Optimist Club has another activity under way aimed at recognizing young people -- an essay contest with a thoughtful theme: "Where Would I Be Without Freedom?"The Optimist Club's essay contest is for students in grades 10 through 12. Students can obtain entry forms, which include the rules, from school counselors or teachers. The deadline for submission of essays of 400 to 500 words is Jan. 14.A medallion will be awarded to the winner at the club level, with entry in the district-level competition, where the winner will receive a plaque and expense-paid trip to a four-day leadership workshop in Valley Forge, Pa.The international competition has scholarship prizes of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 for top winners -- with the first-place winner and parents also receiving an expense-paid trip to the annual Optimist International Convention in Reno, Nev., in July.